Who's better: Justin Fields or Trevor Lawrence? It will be a debate in college football all season in 2020, but we're not into picking favorites. Both quarterbacks are elite, top-tier guys. No need to pick just one.
Who's the best sophomore QB? A mind-boggling 24 true freshmen started an FBS game last season, and a few already look prepped for greatness, while others looked utterly overwhelmed.
Which QB isn't getting enough attention? Who's being overhyped? Dig into our quarterback tiers and find a few names that might surprise you.
Tier 1: The can't-miss superstars (two players)
Justin Fields, Ohio State
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
When their college careers end -- almost certainly after this season -- there's a good chance Fields and Lawrence will go down as the best consensus top-two QB recruits from one class in the modern era. (The Matthew Stafford-Tim Tebow combo from 2006 would place right up there, if not for Mitch Mustain's place in between them in the rankings). It's no surprise that we also have Clemson and Ohio State atop our team tiers for 2020. These are two transcendent quarterbacks, and while there's ample talent around the rest of the country, it's hard to make the case anyone else belongs in this tier with them. Just how good were they last season? From Week 9 through the playoff, Lawrence and Fields combined for 41 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions, with a 91.2 QBR and nearly 4,500 total yards in 15 games. More impressive? Eight of their 15 opponents ranked in the top 20 in ESPN's defensive efficiency.
Tier 2: Elite (six players)
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
Sam Howell, North Carolina
Brock Purdy, Iowa State
D'Eriq King, Miami
Sam Ehlinger, Texas
Kedon Slovis, USC
Last season, just four QBs had 100 attempts against top-50 defenses and still averaged better than 9 yards per pass. Three of them were Heisman Trophy finalists who went on to be selected early in the 2020 draft (Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts). The other was Minnesota's Morgan. ... Only one quarterback in the country had multiple passing touchdowns in every game last season. That would be UNC's Howell, who did it as a true freshman.
Two QBs had 3,900 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in 2020. One was Burrow. The other was Iowa State's Purdy. ... It's hard to know what to make of King in his new home in Miami, but he'll start his career there having thrown a TD in 17 consecutive games. ... No Power 5 QB returns in 2020 with more career passing yards or TDs than Ehlinger. ... From Week 7 on, Slovis completed 70.5% of his throws, averaged 8.8 yards per pass and tossed 25 TDs to just five picks. The only signal-caller better in all three categories during that span was Burrow.
Tier 3: Elite like Joe Flacco (five players)
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
Jamie Newman, Georgia
Micale Cunningham, Louisville
K.J. Costello, Mississippi State
Kyle Trask, Florida
What to make of Mond? He has the skill set and QB guru Jimbo Fisher calling plays. But here's the rub: A&M was 2-5 against top-50 defenses last season, with Mond averaging just 5.9 yards per pass and throwing eight TDs to go with seven turnovers. ... How Newman responds to a more traditional pro-style offense at Georgia after starring in Wake Forest's option is a big question. Whether Georgia's receiving corps offers enough help is another. When Wake star wide receiver Sage Surratt was not on the field the past two seasons, Newman completed just 54% of his throws with six touchdowns and eight picks.
Would you believe Cunningham led the nation in yards per attempt last season? He also returns his top two receivers and starting tailback for 2020. ... Costello was a rising star a couple of years ago, but an injury and a transfer later, his narrative is a bit more complicated. On the other hand, QBs tend to like playing for Mike Leach. ... The overall numbers look good for Trask, but watch the game tape from the bowl victory over Virginia, and there might have been a half-dozen throws that could've been intercepted. His stat line on throws of more than 10 yards offers concern, too: 50% completions, 9 TDs, 6 INTs.
Tier 4: Big shoes to fill (eight players, five jobs)
Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma
Bryce Young/Mac Jones, Alabama
Jacob Sirmon/Dylan Morris, Washington
Myles Brennan, LSU
Tyler Shough/Anthony Brown, Oregon
The most recent time an Oklahoma quarterback didn't finish in the top four in Heisman voting was the first year of the playoff. In other words, there's good reason to assume Rattler, the top QB recruit in the 2019 class, will be just fine. ... Alabama lost some good receivers, but there's still so much talent on that offense that any quarterback is going to put up numbers. In fact, Jones' stat line against two top defenses (Auburn, Michigan) in his final two starts last season was pretty impressive: 662 yards, 7 TDs.
Will Sirmon become the third different Jacob to start at Washington in as many years? There's plenty of upside for both Sirmon and Morris, but with a new coaching staff, it's a big transition. ... Don't sleep on Brennan. Losing Burrow and passing game coordinator Joe Brady is a blow, and it'd be nearly impossible to match the Tigers' production from 2019, but Brennan has all the tools and plenty of talent around him to be elite this season, too.
Brown showed enough flashes at run-heavy Boston College to make his arrival in Eugene an interesting one, but Shough ended spring atop the depth chart and could be the QB to beat here. Whoever lands the job of replacing Justin Herbert inherits one of the nation's best defenses, so the requirements for success shouldn't be overwhelming.
Tier 5: Non-Power 5 (six players)
Brady White, Memphis
Dillon Gabriel, UCF
Levi Lewis, Louisiana
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State
Trey Lance, North Dakota State
Shane Buechele, SMU
White might be the class of the non-Power 5, but with a new coaching staff, he'll have work to do to repeat 2019's gaudy numbers. ... No freshman in the country threw for more yards in 2019 than Gabriel, and he was one of two freshmen to throw for 2,900 yards and 25 TDs and average at least 9 yards per pass in 2019. ... Lewis' stat line from Nov. 1 through the end of the season: 64% completions, 17 TDs, 1 INT.
Three QBs had at least 20 touchdowns and six or fewer picks and completed at least 60% of their passes in each of the past two seasons: Jake Fromm, Tagovailoa and App State's Thomas. ... We'll just leave this stat line right here for Lance: 28 TDs, 0 INTs. ... Buechele found the perfect fit in SMU's offense, totaling either 300 yards, multiple TD throws or both in every game last season.
Tier 6: Game managers (six players)
Charlie Brewer, Baylor
Ian Book, Notre Dame
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
Sean Clifford, Penn State
Chase Garbers, California
Brandon Peters, Illinois
The "game manager" term is often deployed as a pejorative, but it's not all bad. It's essentially saying these guys won't lose you any games you have a good shot to win. It's just tough to count on them to win you a ton of games when you're probably not the better team. Is that a fair critique of all these guys? Brewer certainly elevated Baylor at times last season, but from Oct. 1 on, he had the same number of touchdown passes as Georgia Tech's James Graham (11), despite also having 109 more attempts. ... Book has certainly had his moments of greatness, but against top-50 defenses last season, his numbers were pretty pedestrian (56% completions, six yards per pass, 10 TDs, 6 INTs).
There are some Wake Forest fans who think they might be in better shape with Hartman than Newman, but Hartman is just 2-7 in games vs. Power 5 competition, with one of the wins coming over a dreadful Louisville team in 2018. ... Clifford might have playoff talent around him, but he has rarely done much to exploit that talent. His stats against Power 5 bowl teams last season: 52.6% completions, 6.7 yards per pass. ... For what it's worth, Cal was 7-0 when Garbers threw at least 15 passes in a game last season. On the other hand, he missed most or all of the games against Arizona State, Oregon, Utah and USC, so he wasn't especially tested.
Tier 7: Up-and-comers (eight players)
Bo Nix, Auburn
Jayden Daniels, Arizona State
Holton Ahlers, East Carolina
Hank Bachmeier, Boise State
Max Duggan, TCU
Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech
Davis Mills, Stanford
John Rhys Plumlee, Ole Miss
The jury is still out on all these guys, some of whom were downright bad last season. But there's reason to think there's a good bit of upside for each one, having shown serious flashes of potential in their first season of action in 2019. None are guaranteed stars, but odds are that at least one or two will blossom into a Tier 2 or 3 QB in 2020. The highest upside might belong to Nix, who was dreadful at points last season but also helped engineer victories over Oregon and Alabama. He was a prized recruit, and he's surrounded by elite talent. The pieces are in place for a big step forward.
Daniels wasn't spectacular as a true freshman, but he wasn't asked to be. He made few mistakes and helped Arizona State back to a bowl. This season, he'll need to shoulder more of the load. ... Ahlers isn't exactly a household name, but his November numbers -- 65% completions, 9 yards per pass, 14 TDs, 3 INTs, 83.5 QBR -- offer a reminder that East Carolina is a team on its way up.
Tier 8: Wild cards (seven players)
Jarret Doege, West Virginia
Spencer Petras, Iowa
Tommy DeVito, Syracuse
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
Jake Bentley, Utah
JT Daniels, Georgia
McKenzie Milton, UCF
Here are your high-ceiling, low-floor guys. Of the group, Doege looks like the safest bet. West Virginia was much improved offensively in its final four games when he took over as QB after a transfer from Bowling Green. ... It's doubtful Iowa is going to turn into a run 'n' shoot offense overnight, but Petras could be the Hawkeyes' best legit passing threat in years. Still, he has had only a few chances to show his talents on game day, so his transition into the starting role is a big question. ... DeVito is tough to judge because he was effectively a tackling dummy behind Syracuse's woeful line, but Dino Babers' history with QBs offers room for optimism that the former four-star recruit takes a big step forward.
Is this the year things finally come together for Chip Kelly's UCLA offense? Or has the magic disappeared? Thompson-Robinson has already endured plenty of ups and downs. ... Bentley might be a really nice fit at Utah after losing his job at South Carolina. ... Daniels is as talented as any QB outside of the big two. Will he be granted immediate eligibility at Georgia? ... Here's hoping we see Milton back on the field at some point.
Tier 9: Open competitions (three jobs)
Joe Milton/Dylan McCaffrey, Michigan
Jack Coan/Graham Mertz, Wisconsin
Jarrett Guarantano/Brian Maurer, Tennessee
The QBs who win the jobs at Michigan, Wisconsin and Tennessee will inherit serious expectations -- and serious doubts. There's lots of upside at each program, but they'll all need dramatically improved QB play in 2020 to break through.
Tier 10: We could be convinced (nine players)
Ryan Hilinski, South Carolina
Jack Plummer, Purdue
Peyton Ramsey, Northwestern
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State
Chase Brice, Duke
Adrian Martinez, Nebraska
James Blackman, Florida State
Michael Penix Jr., Indiana
Skylar Thompson, Kansas State
Should Hilinski be in the "up-and-comers" tier with the other freshmen who started last season? Possibly. But it's hard to be overly enthusiastic about the South Carolina offense, which has done little under Will Muschamp. Hilinski's completion percentage (32.3%) and yards per attempt (7.65) on throws beyond 10 yards were both among the worst in FBS last season. ... Plummer is a similar story to Hilinski. It was a learning curve as a freshman, but take away his game against woeful Maryland, and the numbers weren't encouraging: 55% completions, 5.9 yards per pass, 8 TDs, 8 INTs. ... Ramsey had some success at Indiana, but Northwestern's offense has been a black hole.
The only Power 5 QB to make a bowl game while completing fewer than 40% of his throws of more than 10 yards? Sanders at Oklahoma State. ... Duke's offense needs a jolt, and Brice brings a winning formula from Clemson. Will that transfer to a new team? ... Martinez looked so promising as a freshman, but regressed badly last season. Injuries certainly didn't help, but from Sept. 28 on, he threw three TD passes and seven picks. ... Things have to get better at Florida State under Mike Norvell. Whether Blackman is still the QB for the rejuvenation effort remains to be seen.
Others of note
A few Group of 5 QBs -- Dustin Crum at Kent State, Anthony Russo at Temple, Chris Robison at Florida Atlantic and Drew Plitt at Ball State, among others -- have a shot to make noise in 2020. ... Things look pretty bleak at Maryland, where Josh Jackson posted the worst QBR against top-50 defenses of any quarterback in the country last season. ... How much Georgia Tech's offense evolves in Year 2 without the option remains a big question, but Graham at least showed flashes. ... Kentucky has veterans with big injury concerns and a lot left to be determined. ... There are options at Washington State, but without Leach, it all seems much less interesting. ... Grant Gunnell showed promise at Arizona, but that whole program looks like a complete mess right now. ... Kenny Pickett is entering his fourth year as a starter at Pitt, but has just 18 career TDs (to go with 14 picks) against Power 5 competition. His defense might be good enough this season that he won't need to do much.
Vanderbilt's QB situation might be the worst in the Power 5. ... Dave Doeren is optimistic that a healthy Devin Leary can fix NC State's QB woes. ... Virginia will look to score in the transfer market again with Keytaon Thompson. ... Between Logan Bonner, who went down with a thumb injury four games into the season, and Layne Hatcher, the former walk-on who replaced him, Arkansas State's QBs posted a dominant stat line: 64% completions, 8.6 yards per pass, 37 TDs and 11 picks and came up just 2 yards shy of 4,000 for the season. Whichever one starts in 2020 could blossom into one of the top QBs in the Group of 5. ... The less said about Rutgers, the better.